Australian two dollar coin
Production
The Australian two-dollar coin was first issued on 20 June 1988, replacing the two-dollar note, and is the highest-denomination circulating coin of the Australian dollar. It is also the smallest coin in circulation, a deliberate design choice that involved extensive consideration of size, thickness and security: the coin had to be easily distinguished from the five-cent piece by touch alone, which was achieved through its interrupted milling pattern and thicker planchet. The first year of issue saw a massive 160.9 million coins struck.
The reverse, designed by Horst Hahne of the Royal Australian Mint, depicts an Aboriginal elder and is one of Australian coinage's most recognised images. The design was based on drawings by artist Ainslie Roberts of Gwoja Tjungurrayi, a Warlpiri-Anmatyerre man of the Northern Territory also known as "One Pound Jimmy", who survived the 1928 Coniston massacre and became one of the most photographed Aboriginal Australians of his era. The reverse also incorporates the Southern Cross and a native grasstree. Coins dated 1988 and 1989 carry the designer's initials HH on the reverse; the initials were removed from the design from 1990 onwards.
Every two-dollar coin has been struck at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra. The obverse began with Raphael Maklouf's effigy in 1988 (the denomination missed the Machin era entirely), moved to Ian Rank-Broadley in 1999 and Jody Clark in 2019, with the 2016 issue carrying the special decimal-currency anniversary obverse featuring a reproduction of the pre-decimal crown. The Dan Thorne effigy of King Charles III entered circulation in 2024. Two-dollar coins are legal tender for amounts not exceeding $20. Since 2012 the denomination has also been the home of Australia's coloured circulating coin program, which began with the red poppy Remembrance coin.
| Value | Mass | Diameter | Edge | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.00 AUD | 6.60 g | 20.50 mm | Interrupted milled | 92% copper 6% aluminium 2% nickel |
| Obverse | Design | Designer | Design date | |
| File:Australian 2d RM Coin.jpg | Elizabeth II | Raphael Maklouf | 1988-1998 | |
| File:Australian 2d IBR Coin.jpg | Elizabeth II | Ian Rank-Broadley | 1999-2019 | |
| File:Australian 2d IBR50 Coin.jpg | Elizabeth II and Reproduction of the 1937-1938 crown | Ian Rank-Broadley | 2016 | |
| File:Australian 2d JC Coin.jpg | Elizabeth II | Jody Clark | 2019-2023 | |
| File:Australian 2d JCM Coin.jpg | Elizabeth II
Special Memorial |
Jody Clark | 2023 | |
| File:Australian 2d DT Coin.jpg | Charles III | Dan Thorne | 2024-Present | |
| Reverse | Design | Designer | Design date | |
|
Aboriginal Elder, Southern Cross and grasstree | Horst Hahne | 1988-Present | |
Mintage Figures
The two-dollar coin has been issued in every year since 1988 except 1991 (when the huge 1988-1990 issues made new coins unnecessary) and 2023. An average of about 22 million coins per year was produced between 1989 and 2008.
| Mintage year | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mintage (Mil) | 160.94 | 31.64 | 10.3 | 15.5 | 4.9 | 22.1 | 15.5 | 13.9 | 19.0 | 8.7 | 27.3 | 5.7 | 35.6 | 29.7 |
| Mint | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM |
| Mintage year | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mintage (Mil) | 13.7 | 20.0 | 45.5 | 40.5 | 26.0 | 47.0 | 74.5 | 36.5 | 1.8 | 5.9 | 35.1 | 39.9 | 22.0 | 12.9 |
| Mint | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM |
| Mintage year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mintage (Mil) | 2.881 | 16.4 | 14.6 | 10.62 | 2.03 | 16.1 | 13.9 | 32.252 | 5.202 |
| Mint | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM | RAM |
| RAM = Royal Australian Mint. Standard elder reverse only; coloured and other commemorative designs are additional to these figures. |
| 1 = 50th Anniversary, 2 = IRB, 3 = JC, 4 = Reverse carries the designer's initials HH |
| No two-dollar coins were issued for circulation in 1991 or 2023. |
Commemorative Issues
For its first 24 years the two-dollar coin carried only the standard elder reverse. That changed in 2012 with the Remembrance coin, a poppy design with the words Lest We Forget, issued both plain (5.8 million) and with a red printed centre (0.5 million) - the first coloured circulating coin in Australia. The program has grown dramatically since: the 2013 coronation anniversary coin used purple print, the 2014 and 2015 ANZAC coins used green, red and orange, and the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic coins were released through Woolworths supermarkets in five colour variations. Later programs have honoured themes as varied as Possum Magic, Mr Squiggle, Invictus Games, emergency services and Indigenous military service, with most issues carrying printed colour on the standard elder obverse. These coins are all legal tender at face value, and their huntability - through change and supermarket releases - has introduced coin collecting to a new generation. For the collector, the challenge is less scarcity than completeness: the standard reverse coin of the same year is usually the scarcer item to find in change.
Mint Marks
All two-dollar coins have been struck at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra since the denomination's introduction in 1988, and no circulating two-dollar coin carries a mint mark. The one die change that affects attribution is the designer's initials: the initials HH appear on the reverse of 1988 and 1989 coins and were removed from 1990 onwards, giving collectors a clear three-year diagnostic for the earliest issues.
Varieties and Errors
Key Dates
The standout key date of the series is 2011, with a mintage of just 1.8 million coins - by far the lowest of the standard reverse issues and the first coin to chase when assembling a year set. Other low-mintage years include 1993 (4.9 million), 2000 (5.7 million), 2024 (5.202 million) and 2012 (5.9 million, the year the Remembrance coin made its debut).
The HH Initials (1988-1989)
The presence of Horst Hahne's initials on the 1988 and 1989 coins, and their absence from 1990 onwards, is the denomination's first design variety. Both dates are common in circulated condition, but the 1988 coin holds additional interest as the first year of the denomination, and pristine examples from the huge first-year mintage are increasingly sought after.
